Van Gisbergen quits V8 Supercars

V8 Supercars rising star Shane van Gisbergen has announced he's leaving the motorsport championship at the age of 23.

Rumours that the New Zealander was planning on walking away from the sport first emerged at last weekend's event at Winton in Victoria.

Van Gisbergen's decision comes just six months after he and sponsor SP Tools signed new deals with Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) which would have kept him with the team for a further three years.

A quiet personality who has never been comfortable in the limelight, van Gisbergen says his decision is a personal one and has nothing to do with SBR's switch to Erebus Motorsport-backed Mercedes cars in 2013.

"I will be moving back home to New Zealand and have no fixed plans for the future," van Gisbergen said in a statement.

"I have enjoyed five successful years with Stone Brothers Racing and was given a unique opportunity by the team to race V8s at a very young age, which I am very grateful for."

Van Gisbergen emerged as the most promising driver of his generation in the V8s championship after his fourth-place finish in last year's title standings.

He leaves the championship with two race wins and is aiming to finish fifth in the standings this year at what will be his last V8s event in Sydney next month.

After being promoted to SBR's main team in 2008 following his 2007 debut as a 17-year-old at Oran Park, van Gisbergen has forged a strong relationship with team owners Ross and Jimmy Stone.

Despite the disappointment at letting their main driver walk away, Ross Stone said there was little they could to keep van Gisbergen from quitting.

"Shane's motives to quit the sport are private and SBR have agreed that the best way forward for all parties is to release Shane from his current three-year contract," he said.

SBR say they are yet to decide who will take over from van Gisbergen in the team's No.9 Falcon.

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